People gather around the coffins of 65 martyrs of the 1980-88 Iraq-imposed war in Tehran on Tuesday.

TEHRAN, Nov. 6--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Iranian nation are well-prepared to safeguard their faith and virtues, which are the key to their prosperity.
Addressing the huge gathering at the funeral ceremony for 65 martyrs of the 1980-88 Iraq-imposed war on Tuesday, President Ahmadinejad said the Iranian nation should remain loyal to the lofty ideals and goals of martyrs, IRNA reported.
“The people have come with tear-filled eyes and emotionally-charged hearts, to renew their allegiance with the best of people, bid them farewell and proclaim that they will remain on this path till the end,“ he said.
President Ahmadinejad said the Iranian nation has recognized the path, adhered to it and is moving well in that direction.

TEHRAN, Nov. 6--Deputy Afghan foreign minister for political affairs, Mohammad Kabir Farahi, conferred on Monday with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on expansion of bilateral friendly ties.
Mottaki also said Iran’s foreign policy is based on supporting the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and deepening ties between the two nations, IRNA reported.
Referring to the two sides’ relations as historical, Mottaki said, “We continue our cooperation with Afghanistan in line with our religious beliefs, good neighborliness and common interests.“
Commenting on illegal immigration of Afghan nationals to Iran, he said Iran takes the Afghan government’s views into consideration in dealing with the issue.
The Afghan envoy also lauded the spiritual and material support provided by Iran to the Afghan people and said they regard Iran as its friend. He also thanked the country for assisting Afghanistan’s reconstruction and hosting Afghan refugees.
“Continued support by Iran for the Afghan government and its nation has encouraged them,“ he said, expressing hope that through the assistance of Iran, Afghan nationals would complete their higher education and return home for the country’s reconstruction.
Also on Monday, new Cypriot Ambassador to Tehran George Likourgus and Hungarian Ambassador to Tehran Giorgy Boustin in separate meetings with Mottaki submitted copies of their credentials to him.
According to Foreign Ministry’s Press and Media Office, latest developments in bilateral ties were discussed in these meetings.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6--An opinion poll found that 73 percent of Americans believe the United States should use diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear program and only 18 percent favored military action.
Americans are split on taking military action to scuttle Iran’s nuclear program if diplomatic efforts fail, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll released on Monday.
However, 46 percent said military action should be taken either now or if diplomacy fails while 45 percent ruled out a military strike altogether, USA Today said.
Republicans were twice as likely as Democrats to endorse taking military steps, the poll said.
An equal number also said they were concerned that the United States will be too quick to use military force against Iran.
The telephone survey of 1,024 adults was taken from Friday to Sunday. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The poll precedes the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Director General Mohamed ElBaradei on Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities, which will be presented to the Board of Governors in mid November.
IRNA quoted a western diplomat as saying that it was not clear when the report would be released, but Elbaradei is expected to present the report on November 12 or 13.
Meanwhile, Acting Foreign Minister Alireza Sheikh Attar said in Manama on Monday that the Iranian nation is confident that the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) states will not allow their territory to be used for a strike on Iran.
Sheikh Attar told Bahraini press that the reason for such a confidence is the approval of Bahraini Parliament banning the use of Bahraini territory for a possible attack on Iran.
He said Iran’s defense policy is based on repelling aggression but not on attacking others.
In another development, Israel went on the offensive on Tuesday against the UN nuclear watchdog, accusing ElBaradei of playing into Tehran’s hands over its atomic drive.
“Unfortunately there are foreign officials playing the Iranians’ game by contributing to the Iranian strategy of foot-dragging,“ Israeli foreign ministry spokesman, Mark Regev, told AFP.
“From this point of view, the International (Atomic Energy) Agency and its leadership are guilty,“ Regev claimed.
Permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany, are expected to approve a third UN Security Council resolution against Iran, unless the upcoming IAEA and EU reports show “a positive outcome“.
Also on Tuesday, China voiced its willingness to maintain coordination and consultation with the parties concerned on the Iranian nuclear issue to promote peaceful settlement of the issue.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao told a regular press briefing that the Iranian nuclear issue is a key topic that US Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates discussed with Chinese state and military leaders during his just-concluded China tour.
“China calls on the parties concerned to continue dialogues and consultations including Iran’s consultation with the IAEA and the European Union, and expects these dialogues to bear fruit,“ he said.

TEHRAN, Nov. 6--Iran said on Monday it had drawn up a plan to restore stability to Iraq, including offering recommendations for the expulsion of private security firms and the integration of militias into the security forces.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said Iranian diplomats had proposed the plan at a weekend conference in Istanbul on Iraqi security, but its details were being made public for the first time.
“This has been proposed by Iran as a general plan for others to comment on,“ Hosseini told reporters, according
to Presstv.
The spokesman noted that the plan emphasizes the necessity of driving armed militant groups out of Iraq and also for expelling the numerous private security firms working there.
“Particularly Blackwater,“ said Hosseini, referring to the US firm whose guards were involved in a shooting incident on September 16 in Baghdad that left 17 Iraqis dead.
“All armed groups that have not cooperated with any organized terrorist group should be forgiven. They must turn over their weapons and the government of Iraq should make use of some of these groups in the military and police forces,“ he said.
Hosseini also said the remarks attributed to Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal are “surprising and contrary to Riyadh’s principled stances“.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, as the only legal source for overseeing nuclear activities, has repeatedly announced that there has been no deviation in Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.
Hosseini stressed that “unfounded and ambiguous remarks will not serve the interests of the regional states, nor will they help establish peace and stability in the region“, adding that such remarks would only pave the way for foreigners to exploit the situation.
Faisal, in an interview with the British TV channel 4, said expansion of nuclear weapons would benefit no state, the Saudi-based Al-Watan daily reported.
“We have to convince the Iranians that nuclear weapons would not materialize any objective,“ he had said in the interview.

Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad Adel will be heading a delegation to the Azerbaijan Republic on Thursday upon the invitation of his Azeri counterpart.
The two neighbors have signed three cooperation agreements in the past in connection with the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crimes.
Setting up new power lines, transferring Iran’s gas to Nakhichevan, rebuilding the Baku-Astara Road at a cost of $45 million and launching Tehran-Baku direct flights are examples of further cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan Republic.
The two sides have also concluded memoranda of understanding in the trade, education, culture and security fields.
Despite such a large volume of transactions and cooperation agreements, it seems that the influence and interference of global powers are hindering bilateral cooperation.
A member of Iran’s Parliament Reza Talaei-Nik mentions the following aspects about Haddad’s forthcoming visit to Baku:
Iran’s strategic priority in its foreign policy is expansion of ties with its neighbors and regional states.
The Azerbaijan Republic occupies a significant place in the country’s foreign policy. In addition to common borders, Iran and Azerbaijan share interests in the Caspian Sea, which intensify the need for economic, political, cultural and security cooperation.
In energy, industrial, food and cargo transit sectors, the two countries have extensive capacities to expand bilateral transactions.
Cultural cooperation between the two countries is also important in view of their historical and cultural commonalities.
Iran and Azerbaijan can boost their regional influence and even across the world by enhancing bilateral ties.
Despite the plots of enemies to disrupt Tehran-Baku ties, the two countries have witnessed an increasing level of cooperation.
In last year’s visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki to Baku, in addition to concluding agreements, Azerbaijan’s parliament speaker extended an invitation for Haddad.
Azerbaijan’s parliamentarians are keen to develop ties with Iran and the prevailing positive perception about mutual ties can help meet challenges such as devising the legal regime of the Caspian Sea.
Taking the needs of Azerbaijan into account, Iran’s different energy sectors have paved the way for furthering mutual cooperation.
Haddad’s visit can be an effective cornerstone for strengthening ties with Baku. This will happen in the face of broader cooperation between the two neighbors to withstand the interference of world powers in bilateral and regional affairs.

TEHRAN, Nov. 6--The executive phase of the project “Iran-Afghanistan Border Posts Arrangement and Modernization“ began on Monday.
According to the Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press Office, a joint commission assigned with the implementation of the bilateral project is headed by Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia and Oceania Affairs Mehdi Safari and Afghanistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Mohammad Kabir Farahi, IRNA reported.
The plan was initially proposed during the meeting of the two countries’ presidents in winter 2005, but the related memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in spring 2007 by their respective foreign ministers in Tehran.
In the 30 billion rials (over $3 million) project, the Afghan side’s share is allocated from foreign aid allocated for reconstruction projects.
Mainly aimed at reconstruction of the two countries’ border posts, the border project is one of the largest and most important plans jointly undertaken by the two countries.
Iran’s 949-km-long international border with Afghanistan includes 709 km of land and 236 km of water borders.